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Home , Britney Jean

1 ZOË BRENNAN-KROHN (SBN 324912) [email protected] 2 SUSAN MIZNER (SBN 163452) [email protected] 3 AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION 39 Drumm Street 4 San Francisco, CA 94111 Telephone: (415) 343-0769 5 Facsimile: (415) 343-0950 6 AMANDA GOAD (SBN 297131) [email protected] 7 ADITI FRUITWALA (SBN 300362) [email protected] 8 AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 1313 West 8th Street, Suite 200 9 Los Angeles, CA 90017 Telephone: (213) 977-9500 10 Facsimile: (213) 915-0219

11 Counsel for Petitioners Requesting Confidential Communication and Offering Supported 12 Decision-Making Services

13 SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, CENTRAL DISTRICT 14

15 Case No. BP1088790 In re the Conservatorship of the Person and 16 Estate of PETITION BY AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOR 17 BRITNEY JEAN SPEARS CONFIDENTIAL 18 COMMUNICATION WITH CONSERVATEE TO OFFER AND 19 PROVIDE SUPPORTED DECISION- MAKING SERVICES 20 REQUEST FOR ARGUMENT 21 22 Date: July 14, 2021 Time: 1:30PM 23 Department: 4 Judge: Hon. Brenda J. Penny 24

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PETITION BY ACLU FOR CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION AND TO OFFER SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING SERVICES

1 PETITION FOR CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION WITH CONSERVATEE TO 2 OFFER AND PROVIDE SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING SERVICES 3 Petitioners American Civil Liberties Union Disability Rights Program and American Civil 4 Liberties Union of Southern California (collectively “ACLU”), respectfully petition this Court to 5 offer conservatee Britney Spears supported decision-making assistance in selecting her next 6 attorney. 7 This petition incorporates the arguments set forth in the proposed brief concurrently filed 8 by disability and civil rights organizations as amici curiae in this case. Petitioners represent a 9 diverse group of disability rights organizations in California and nationwide who, through their

10 proposed brief, urge this Court to allow Ms. Spears to select her own attorney, and to ensure that 11 she has access to resources, including supported decision-making services, that can help Ms. 12 Spears make her own, informed choice. The proposed brief of amici highlights the importance of 13 ensuring that Ms. Spears has the opportunity to choose her own lawyer, and that she has a 14 meaningful opportunity to make this choice, including through supported decision-making, should 15 she so desire. 16 Petitioners do not have information at present as to whether Ms. Spears identifies herself as 17 having disabilities, whether she seeks the assistance of a neutral supporter to help her navigate the 18 selection of counsel, or what kinds of assistance might be most helpful. Petitioners observe, 19 however, that many people under conservatorship have been isolated, with limited access to the 20 internet and external advice. People with and without disabilities may benefit from, and wish to 21 have, support or guidance from a neutral advisor for an important decision such as the one 22 currently before Ms. Spears. Petitioners will not serve in the role of engaging in supported 23 decision-making with Ms. Spears except with Ms. Spears’ interest and consent,1 and seek an 24 opportunity now to determine whether Ms. Spears is interested in this process.

25 1 Petitioners are aware of media reports that Ms. Spears may have already identified a 26 commercial litigator whom she hopes to retain as her conservatorship counsel, but also of other media reports indicating that she does not have consistent access to the internet or to private phone 27 calls. Petitioners accordingly offer Ms. Spears help ensuring that she has identified the 28 considerations most important to her in selecting and retaining a legal team as well as the full universe of attorneys potentially available to her, if and only if she is interested in such help. -2- PETITION BY ACLU FOR CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION AND TO OFFER SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING SERVICES

1 Supported decision-making is defined in the Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and 2 Other Protective Arrangements Act as, “assistance from one or more persons of an individual’s 3 choosing in understanding the nature and consequences of potential personal and financial 4 decisions, which enables the individual to make the decisions, and in communicating a decision 5 once made if consistent with the individual’s wishes.” (Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship 6 and Other Protective Arrangements Act (2017) § 102(31); see also §§ 301(a)(1)(A); 310(a)(1).) 7 As outlined in the proposed amici brief, supported decision-making is a well-respected and widely 8 used and recognized system that allows people to use trusted supporters and advisors to 9 understand, make, and communicate their own choices. Amici describe how supported decision-

10 making can be used both within and in lieu of conservatorships. In their brief, proposed amici urge 11 the Court to facilitate the use of supported decision-making to help Ms. Spears select her own 12 successor attorney. 13 This petition offers the Court and Ms. Spears a mechanism to make that system of 14 informed, supported choice a reality. Petitioners here request confidential communication with 15 Ms. Spears to make sure she is aware of the concept of supported decision-making, and to learn 16 whether she wishes to use supported decision-making to select a successor lawyer. If she so 17 wishes, and if she wishes to consider Petitioners as supporters, Petitioners seek the Court’s leave 18 to provide this support to Ms. Spears. 19 As non-profit organizations with no vested interest in the outcome of this case, Petitioners 20 offer their services confidentially and without cost. Members of Petitioners’ legal team have 21 experience providing support to people through supported decision-making to help them 22 understand, select, and communicate their own choices.2 They have developed supported decision- 23 making tools and materials used around the country, and have provided training, continuing legal 24 education programming, and direct supported decision-making services to individuals and 25 organizations for the past five years. Petitioners have no financial or other interest in whom Ms. 26 Spears selects as her successor lawyer, and do not themselves seek to be appointed as successor 27

2 28 See, e.g., ACLU, Supported Decision-Making Resource Library, available at: www.aclu.org/supported-decision-making-resource-library (last visited July 12, 2021). -3- PETITION BY ACLU FOR CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION AND TO OFFER SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING SERVICES

1 attorneys in the conservatorship.

2 CONCLUSION 3 Petitioners respectfully request that the Court:

4 • Permit Petitioners to be heard briefly on this matter at the upcoming July 14, 2021 hearing;

5 • Authorize and order that within 10 days, conservatee Britney Spears be permitted to 6 communicate confidentially with Petitioners to discuss the concept and possibility of

7 supported decision-making in selecting an attorney; and

8 • Allow Petitioners to file a status report, drafted with Ms. Spears’ agreement on what 9 information will be filed publicly and what will remain confidential, within one week of

10 any meeting with Ms. Spears to report whether and in what capacity Ms. Spears requests 11 supported decision-making assistance, what progress has been made if applicable, and

12 what mechanism for future engagement, if any, she and Petitioners propose. 13 DATED: July 12, 2021 AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION 14 By:

15 /s/ Zoë Brennan-Krohn SUSAN MIZNER (SBN 163452) 16 [email protected] ZOË BRENNAN-KROHN (SBN 324912) 17 [email protected] AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION 18 FOUNDATION DISABILITY RIGHTS PROGRAM 19 39 Drumm Street San Francisco, CA 94111 20 Telephone: (415) 343-0769 Facsimile: (415) 343-0950 21 AMANDA GOAD (SBN 297131) 22 [email protected] ADITI FRUITWALA (SBN 300362) 23 [email protected] AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES FOUNDATION 24 OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 1313 West 8th Street, Suite 200 25 Los Angeles, CA 90017 Telephone: (213) 977-9500 26 Facsimile: (213) 915-0219 Counsel for Petitioners Requesting Confidential 27 Communication and Offering Supported Decision-Making Services 28 -4- PETITION BY ACLU FOR CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION AND TO OFFER SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING SERVICES

1 PROOF OF SERVICE 2 I am employed in the County of Los Angeles, State of California. I am over the age of 18 and not 3 a party to the within action. My business address is 1313 West Eighth Street, Los Angeles, California 4 90017. I am employed in the office of a member of the bar of this court at whose direction the service 5 was made. On July 12, 2021, I caused the following to be served:

6 • PETITION BY AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOR CONFIDENTIAL 7 COMMUNICATION WITH CONSERVATEE TO OFFER AND PROVIDE 8 SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING SERVICES 9 Via personal hand delivery on the parties listed below.

10 Party Attorney/Address Served 11 Court Appointed Counsel for Samuel D. lngham, III 12 Conservatee, Britney Jean 444 South Flower Street, Suite 4260 Spears Los Angeles, CA 90071-2966 13 14 15

16 Litigation Counsel for David C. Nelson 17 Conservatee, Britney Jean Ronald Pearson Spears Loeb & Loeb, LLP 18 10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 2200 Los Angeles, CA 90067 19 20 21 Temporary Conservator of the Jodi Montgomery Person 1443 E. Washington Blvd., Ste. 644 22 Pasadena, CA 91104 23 24 25

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Attorney for Jodi Montgomery Lauriann C. Wright 1 Wright Kim Douglas, ALC 2 130 S. Jackson Street Glendale, CA 91205 3 4 5 Attorneys for James P. Spears, Vivian L. Thoreen 6 Co-Conservator of Estate Jonathan H. Park Holland & Knight, LLP 7 400 South Hope Street, 8th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90071 8 9

10 Attorneys for James P. Spears, Geraldine A. Wyle Co-Conservator of Estate Jeryll S. Cohen 11 Freeman, Freeman & Smiley, LLP 12 1888 Century Park East, Suite 1500 Los Angeles, CA 90067 13 14 15 Attorney for Lynne Spears Yasha Bronshteyn Ginzburg & Bronshteyn, LLP 16 11755 Wilshire Blvd., Ste 1250 Los Angeles, CA 90025 17 18 19 Attorneys for Lynne Spears Pro Hac Vice 20 Gladstone N. Jones, III, Esq. 21 Lynn E. Swanson, Esq. Jones, Swanson, Huddell & Daschbach, LLC 22 Pan-American Life Center 601 Poydras Street, Ste. 2655 23 New Orleans, LA 70130 24

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I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the above is true 1 2 and correct. Executed on July 12, 2021, at Los Angeles, California. 3 Crista Minneci 4 ACLU Foundation of Southern California 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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